218 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
friend‘s coach to the door, as the only effectual hint to his guest ; but Dempster’s
coachman was ngt to be so caught : he positively refused to harness the horses
in such a night, especially as the roads were so bad and dangerous, preferring
rather to lie in the stable, if he could get no other accommodation, till daylight,
Lord Dunsinnan, thus driven to extremities, returned to his guest, and
made known the dilemma in which they were placed. “ George, ” said he, ‘‘ if
you stay, you will go to bed at ten and rise at three ; and then I shall get the
bed after you.”
The property of Dunsinnan, which included nearly the entire parish of Collace,
was far from being in a state of improvement when it came into his hands ;
a great part of the lands consisted of what is termed “outfield,” and the
farms were made up of detached portions, many of these at considerable distances.
No sooner had Sir William obtained possession of the estate than he
set about dividing the lands into compact and regular farms, which he enclosed,
and gave to each a certain portion of outfield ; at the same time he built comfortable
dwellings for many of his tenants, and, by proper encouragement, induced
others to do so for themselves. He thus, with no niggardly hand, promoted
alike the prosperity of the tenant, and ensured the rapid improvement of
the soil.
Sir William was appointed a Lord of Justiaiary, in 1792, on the death of
Lord Stonefield ; and continued to attend the duties of the circuit until 1808,
when he resigned, and the following year retired from the Court of Session
altogether. He died at a very advanced age at Dunsinnan House on the
25th March 1811. The title became extinct in his person, and a nephew (his
sister’s son) succeeded to the estate and assumed the name of Nairne.
His lordship’s residence in Edinburgh was Minto House, Argyle Square.
Previous to his removal thither, he occupied a tenement at the head of the
Parliament Stairs, lately a printing-office ; but now removed to make way for
the new Justiciary Court-Room.
Before concluding this sketch, it may be noticed that Lord Dunsinnan was
uncle to the famous Catherine Nairne or Ogilvie, whose trial in 17 65 for the
crimes of murder and incest, excited such general interest. She married in
that year Thomas Ogilvie, Esq. of Eastmiln, Forfarshire,-a gentleman, as was
stated at the trial, forty years of age and of a sickly constitution-the lady’s
own age being only nineteen. Shortly before the marriage, a younger brother
of this gentleman, named Patrick, and a lieutenant in the 89th Foot, had returned
on account of bad health from India, and had taken up his residence
as a visitor at his brother’s house. The marriage took place three or four days
after Patrick’s return; and in less than a week the intercourse betwixt him
and his brother’s wife, which led to such tragical consequences, was stated to
have commenced. Four months afterwards, in pursuance of a diabolical plot
betwixt Mrs. Ogilvie and her seducer, the former effected the death of her husband
by means of arsenic. She and her accomplice were accordingly brought
to trial, when both were found guilty, and condemned to be hanged. Sentencedangerous, preferring
rather to lie in the stable, if he could get no other accommodation, till daylight,
Lord Dunsinnan, thus driven to extremities, returned to his guest, and
made known the dilemma in which they were placed. “ George, ” said he, ‘‘ if
you stay, you will go to bed at ten and rise at three ; and then I shall get the
bed after you.”
The property of Dunsinnan, which included nearly the entire parish of Collace,
was far from being in a state of improvement when it came into his hands ;
a great part of the lands consisted of what is termed “outfield,” and the
farms were made up of detached portions, many of these at considerable distances.
No sooner had Sir William obtained possession of the estate than he
set about dividing the lands into compact and regular farms, which he enclosed,
and gave to each a certain portion of outfield ; at the same time he built comfortable
dwellings for many of his tenants, and, by proper encouragement, induced
others to do so for themselves. He thus, with no niggardly hand, promoted
alike the prosperity of the tenant, and ensured the rapid improvement of
the soil.
Sir William was appointed a Lord of Justiaiary, in 1792, on the death of
Lord Stonefield ; and continued to attend the duties of the circuit until 1808,
when he resigned, and the following year retired from the Court of Session
altogether. He died at a very advanced age at Dunsinnan House on the
25th March 1811. The title became extinct in his person, and a nephew (his
sister’s son) succeeded to the estate and assumed the name of Nairne.
His lordship’s residence in Edinburgh was Minto House, Argyle Square.
Previous to his removal thither, he occupied a tenement at the head of the
Parliament Stairs, lately a printing-office ; but now removed to make way for
the new Justiciary Court-Room.
Before concluding this sketch, it may be noticed that Lord Dunsinnan was
uncle to the famous Catherine Nairne or Ogilvie, whose trial in 17 65 for the
crimes of murder and incest, excited such general interest. She married in
that year Thomas Ogilvie, Esq. of Eastmiln, Forfarshire,-a gentleman, as was
stated at the trial, forty years of age and of a sickly constitution-the lady’s
own age being only nineteen. Shortly before the marriage, a younger brother
of this gentleman, named Patrick, and a lieutenant in the 89th Foot, had returned
on account of bad health from India, and had taken up his residence
as a visitor at his brother’s house. The marriage took place three or four days
after Patrick’s return; and in less than a week the intercourse betwixt him
and his brother’s wife, which led to such tragical consequences, was stated to
have commenced. Four months afterwards, in pursuance of a diabolical plot
betwixt Mrs. Ogilvie and her seducer, the former effected the death of her husband
by means of arsenic. She and her accomplice were accordingly brought
to trial, when both were found guilty, and condemned to be hanged. Sentence
